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Research suggests infants may be able to perceive that speech can communicate unobservable objects that are essential for social interactions.

Research suggests infants may be able to perceive that speech
can communicate unobservable objects that are essential for social
interactions.

In a study conducted by scholars from New York University and
McGill University, one-year old infants were monitored to determine
whether or not they would be able to identify that speech can
communicate both congruent (observable) and incongruent
(unobservable) items. Observable items include objects and people,
whereas unobservable items relate to social interactions and/or
one's intentions.

Study author Athena Vouloumanos, assistant professor at NYU, and
co-authors Kristine Onishi, an associate professor
in the Department of Psychology at Canada's McGill University, and
Amanda Pogue, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo,
observed infants as they had other adults acted out short
scenes.